Imperial and White City

IMPERIAL AND WHITE CITY Our newsletter for the local community Issue 9, 2019

In this issue: // Inspiring community science projects in the local area // Learn more about our upcoming activities and events // Competition: can you identify our mystery location?

Local young people and their families making scribblebots at our first Robot Day.

Hello!

Welcome to the ninth issue of Imperial College London’s community newsletter for local residents, businesses and organisations in and around White City.

Welcome to the autumn edition of our community newsletter!

In this issue, we’ll be looking at some of the fantastic local science and technology projects supported by our new Community Science Seed Fund. These include science youth clubs, a science bus tour and a stand-up comedy programme. It has been great fun seeing these projects and collaborations take shape over the past year, driven by inspiring members of the community who want to make a difference in the local area.

Coming up this autumn we have an exciting programme of events and activities over the next few months, including an Agents of Change women’s networking event and the return of LOL Labs, where local residents and our researchers can take a crash course in comedy. Looking even further ahead, we’re going to be launching the second round of the Community Science Seed Fund in December and have a number of festive activities in the lead up to Christmas.

Don’t forget, you can keep up to date with everything going on at The Invention Rooms on our website. Visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/white-city-campus/community to find out more.

I hope to see you soon,

Professor Maggie Dallman Vice-President (International) and Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships)

News from Imperial

Flying fish bot Scientists have developed a new ‘flying-fish’ robot that can launch itself from the water and travel 26 metres through the air. The robot could be used to collect water samples in flooded or polluted environments.

Improv brainwaves A new study has shown that when classical musicians improvise, audiences are more engaged.

Researchers measured an audience’s brain activity during an improvisation and found an increase in brain signal complexity – associated with greater alertness and awareness.

This summer, we held Robot Day at The Invention Rooms, where young people and their families made robots and tried out programming and coding. We also enjoyed our new community garden, making mini bug hotels to help attract wildlife and created pictures with everyday natural materials.

What we up to in

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Dog detectives Special sniffer dogs have been trained to detect ultra-low concentrations of bacteria which cause lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. The researchers say that detection dogs could become a more sensitive and affordable way to screen for infections than existing tools.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news

ents of Change Catching up at the Ag event. summer networking

d with the Baking herb brea mmunity Hammersmith Co ion.

Gardens Associat

e’ve been n the local unity

Making scribbleb

ots at Robot Day.

Young makers show off their inventions at our Maker C hallenge sum mer finale.

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Events and activities Get involved Agents of Change Networking Event Join us for an evening of community networking and learn more about Agents of Change, the community network for women living and working in White City.

When: Wednesday 13 November, 18.00–20.30 Where: The Invention Rooms

LOL LABS 2019 Join us for an experiment in funny, as local residents and Imperial researchers join forces to try their hand at stand-up.

What Th

Free drop-in gadget w

– Do you need support with laptop, tablet or other gad – Need help getting online?

– Do you live in and around – Are you over 60?

If so, join our weekly tech drop volunteers from Imperial Colle grips with your gadgets. Free

When: Friday 13 December at 18.00 Where: The Queen’s Tavern, White City

Knitting for the Homeless Club Are you a knitter or have you considered learning? Drop by to meet new friends and craft some cosy knits for homeless people living locally.

Where: The Invention Rooms Café When: Wednesdays 10.30–13.30 To sign up for any of these activities, visit our website or drop us a line: www.imperial.ac.uk/ white-city-campus/community E: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk T: 020 7594 1103

When and where

Wednesdays, 14.30–16.00 from Oc Edward Woods Community Centre

Thursdays, 14.00–15.30 The Invention Rooms, 68 Wood Lan

Competition:

he Tech?!

win a £50 dining voucher for Shikumen, Shepherd’s Bush

workshops for older residents

h your phone, dgets? ? d White City?

p-ins, where friendly staff and student ege London can support you to get to tea, coffee and cake provided.

ctober to December e, 60 Norland Road

ne

Question: ?

Can you identify this historic White City location?

Founded by

Send your answer to: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

by Friday 13 December.

Correct answers will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 dining voucher for Shikumen, Shepherd’s Bush.

Blast off!

Showcasing our new Community Science Seed Fund After school club experiments with a real-life scientist.

A magical bus journey to explore White City’s scientific links. Stand-up comedy and an investigation into the health benefits of a good laugh. These are just some of the brilliant ideas that members of our community have developed through the White City Community Science Seed Fund – a special initiative that’s helping exciting science and technology projects in our area get off the ground.

Science at the Mini Club

All aboard The Who, What, Why, Science Bus

The Mini Club helps local children aged from 2 to 8 with reading and homework after school. After following science experiments on YouTube during British Science Week, the Mini Club worked with an organisation called Sphere Science to run fun and hands-on science workshops with real scientists. Over five weeks, members of the Mini Club learned about colour chemistry, the forces that make objects float, the science of light, and had the chance to make their own rockets and try some explosive experiments.

Collecting local groups of all ages, The Playground Theatre’s project The Who, What, Why, Science Bus took passengers on an adventure led by actor, writer and storyteller Jack Klaff to explore the local area and its extraordinary scientific connections. The route took in White City locations like the Koestler Arts building, South Africa Road and Wormwood Scrubs, ending back at The Playground Theatre for some impressive scientific experiments.

Super Scientist Soup Bubble & Squeak, the social enterprise run by children in Old Oak, set up an innovative after school club to fight food waste. Over 12 sessions, members aged from 5 to 12 years old learned more about science, technology, engineering and maths through ingenious experiments with food and nature, and workshops on building structures and propagating plants. The project ended with children running an open evening for their parents, staff and the local community – teaching them about the new and exciting things they had learned.

“I enjoyed coming to Super Scientist Soup every week and I learned something new each day. I was able to make an oxygenating plant for my mum’s kitchen. I also think I might want to be a scientist or engineer in the future!”

– Nicole, age 9

As well as offering financial support of up to £2,000, the Community Science Seed Fund connects local groups and residents with a Science Supporter from Imperial, who can share their science and technology know-how, and offer their time to support activities.

This year, we’ve supported five fantastic projects and we’re looking forward to launching the next Community Science Seed Fund in December 2019. Let’s take a look at some of projects already inspiring people in our community.

Stand Up for the Over 50s Organised by local resident Sandra Anlin in partnership with Open Age, Stand Up for the Over 50s brought older people together over five sessions to write and develop their own stand-up comedy routines with the support of a professional comedy trainer, before performing routines in front of a life audience at The Invention Rooms. By giving older people a voice, the project aimed to give participants the opportunity to learn about the impact of laughter on the brain.

The ESTEEM Club The ESTEEM Club is a project for children aged from 9 to 11 who live or go to school in North Kensington, run by local group Urbanwise. Their project is helping young people to learn about coding and electronics through making and tinkering. At the Club, participants built sensors to gather scientific data, programmed pocket-sized codeable computers, and made models and structures using crafting tools.

“We aim to provide young children with life-changing learning experiences while empowering them to make the difference they want to see in their community” – Carlos, Urbanwise

“Stand Up for the Over 50s offers the great experience of writing comedy and performing stand-up to be introduced to seniors to have a go and fire up their neurons” – Sandra, Stand Up for the Over 50s

Do you have an inspiring idea for a community-led science project?

If you’re passionate about sharing the wonder of science and technology with your local community, you can apply for up to £2,000 to kick-start your project through the Imperial Community Science Seed Fund.

Our next Community Science Seed Fund will launch in December 2019.

For more information, visit our website or drop us a line! whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk www.imperial.ac.uk/white-citycampus/community/seed-fund

Would you like this in another language?

Jes´ li chcesz otrzymywac´ ten biuletyn w je˛ z. polskim, skontaktuj sie˛ z nami pod adresem: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

Pour recevoir une version de ce bulletin d’information en français, veuillez nous contacter sur: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

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Se desejar receber uma versão desta newsletter em português, por favor contacte-nos: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

Si necesita una versión en español de este boletín informativo, póngase en contacto con nosotros en: whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk

Get in touch We welcome your ideas and suggestions about this newsletter or anything Imperial College London is doing in White City. You can contact Priya or Tom from our dedicated Community Engagement Team who can answer your queries or arrange a meeting. whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk 020 7594 1103

@InventionRooms

www.imperial.ac.uk/white-city-campus/community

Tom Pearson and

Priya Pallan